Figure 4.
The ume6Δ/Δ mutant is attenuated for virulence and defective for hyphal filament extension in a mouse model of systemic candidiasis. (A) Eight female BALB/c mice (6–8 wk old) were each injected with 2 × 105 CFUs of a wild-type, ume6Δ/Δ, or ume6Δ/Δ::UME6 (add-back) strain. Survival was monitored over the course of 21 d. A Kaplan-Meier test was performed to confirm that the difference in virulence between the wild-type and ume6Δ/Δ strains is statistically significant (p ≤ 0.0005) (the ume6Δ/Δ::UME6 strain did not show a statistically significant difference in virulence when compared with the wild-type strain). (B) Kidney tissues from infected mice were fixed, sectioned, and stained with Grocot- Gomori methenamine-silver to visualize fungal cells. Top panels, sections taken from mice infected with the wild-type (WT) strain; bottom panels, sections taken from mice infected with the ume6Δ/Δ strain.